Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Forbes Rates Enterprise's Jack Taylor Richest St. Louisan

Even a billionaire has a right to be cranky when he drops 80 places on Forbes's list of the world's richest people.

Times are tough here in St. Louis, even for billionaires. In Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's richest people, Enterprise Rent-a-Car owner Jack Taylor fell an embarrassing 83 spots, all the way down to 123. Last year (for those of you too lazy to do the math), he ranked fortieth with a net worth of $9.5 billion.

This year, Taylor, who is 87, and his family have a net worth of only $6 billion. Still, the only person in St. Louis who even comes close is Pauline MacMillan Keinath, a descendant of the founders of Cargill, Inc., who, with a net worth of $4.5 billion, ties for 176th on Forbes's list.

At least they still qualify as billionaires. Thirty people from the 2009 list are now mere millionaires.

Two other Missourians appear on the list: E. Stanley Kroenke, a minority owner of the Blues who lives in Columbia, and his wife Ann Walton Kroenke, a niece of Walmart founder Sam Walton. E. Stanley, who is worth $2.9 billion, ranks 342, but he's outclassed by Ann, worth $3.2 billion and tied with two others for 297.

Jorge Paulo Lemann, one of the Brazilian overlords (well, controlling shareholders) of Anheuser-Busch In Bev, jumped from 92 to 48 on the list this year. He's now worth $11.5 billion.

The richest person in the world is Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications tycoon. His net worth of $53.5 billion edges him past previous record-holders Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.